Abstract:

Curtonotidae are a small, mostly tropical family of acalyptrate flies in the Ephydroidea, a superfamily that also includes the Drosophilidae. Two species of Curtonotidae are described from Miocene amber of the Dominican Republic, 17-20 Ma: Curtonotum [dagger]electrodominicum Grimaldi and Kirk-Spriggs, sp. n., and Depressonotum [dagger]priscum Grimaldi and Kirk-Spriggs, gen. et sp. n. The fossil Curtonotum is based on a female specimen and has some features of Neotropical species and a small clade of African species. Depressonotum priscum, gen. et sp. n., is based on a male and female and has a unique combination of features that are plesiomorphic and derived for the Curtonotidae. These are the only definitive fossils of the family and the only Curtonotidae known from the Caribbean. The fossil Curtonotidae provide rare data on the geological occurrence of ephydroid flies, essential for estimates of divergence times.

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American Museum NovitatesNovitates (Latin for "new acquaintances"), published continuously and numbered consecutively since 1921, are short papers that contain descriptions of new forms and reports in zoology, paleontology, and geology. New numbers are published at irregular intervals.